Flowers
by MarkPrinceRoxas
Summary: Alone in the light of nothingness following the final battle Kuja finds himself with a woman named Aerith. What is it that she wants from him?


This story was written for my friend AerithBunny from the CxA forums for her Secret Santa. So I hope she and anyone who will read this can enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, all characters are owned by Square Enix.

**~* Flowers *~**

He didn't know where he was or even what he was. The last thing Kuja could remember was the Iifa Tree's mind snapping, its roots taking upon a life of their own and attacking everything in sight. He was lying upon a weakened but sturdy piece of the trunk that the roots couldn't get to though he did not know for how long until they would be able to make their way through to his safe haven. Kuja found it ironic that what the people from Terra had merely created and called a 'device' that stole the souls of the afterlife from the Gaian people was suddenly lashing out upon the surface like it had a soul of its own. Surely he would finally meet his end here like he so greatly deserved after his selfish actions but still Zidane appeared but alone. Kuja was surprised to see that his brother had came to rescue him. Fate had a funny way of turning the wheels he thought, the so called Angel of Death had actually come to save a failure like himself.

However they were both engulfed by the roots of the Iifa Tree, they had finally managed to break into their hideout. Zidane quickly tried to shield the injured Kuja with his own body but one root managed to smack their faces knocking them both unconscious. Kuja had been alone ever since. His eyes opened and scanned the area around him and all he could see was a dull, transparent white nothingness. Zidane was no where to be seen and Kuja was unable to pick up his scent. He grumbled at the thought of Zidane being dead but his mind also pondered if he himself was dead. Slowly picking himself up he brushed off non existent dust off his clothes. They were shockingly still all in tact, not a single ripe or tear was on them despite the attack and injuries he sustained, or at least he should of. The only difference was that his tail was no longer concealed it was out in the open completely revealed. His shameful secret, he totted that it still caused him some grief and annoyance despite him coming to terms with it following his transformation into Trance.

"Oh I see you are awake,".

Kuja's mind quickly turned on alert from the voice ready to go into battle and prepared a Thundaga spell in advance. However he quickly shooed it away when the form that the voice came from was a woman. She was slim with a soft skin tone, wearing a long light pink dress that stopped upon her shins. It was unbuttoned to just above her thighs naturally allowing her movement. She worse brown boots that appeared worn and both of her arms had three silver bracers hanging on her wrists and a secure yet relaxed choker necklace was tied around her neck. She also wore a small red bolero jacket adorned with pockets and leather belts on the edge of the sleeves. Her brown hair was tied back and held secure by a big pink ribbon that was held by a small green orb while her bangs were very segmented and framed upon her face. Her most stunning feature to Kuja was the bright emerald eyes that seemed to be shinning right into his mind.

"Well my dear for a start I would of never picked those old brown clogs for you and the colour scheme certainly doesn't show off your true beauty," Kuja cooed with his finger tip placed against his lower lip.

"Oh hush. I happen to like this!" she giggled, "and what about you? A feather as a hood ornament? And what exactly is that you're wearing?".

Kuja flicked his hair and the feather placed upon the peak of his head in amusement liking the response from the girl, "Ah it is but a refined taste petal, would one be ever so kind to tell me where I am or what exactly I am?".

The woman smiled and waved her hand across as to point Kuja towards the ground. Slightly fascinated as he swore his eyes hadn't seen them before when he was trying to figure out where he was the ground was covered with flowers. They all seemed to be the same specimen but even surprising to one like Kuja he didn't know what species they were but they were all the colours yellow and white. The flowers stretched out into the distance like they would never end. He also noticed the woman seemed to have ten or so wheelbarrows behind her littered with hundreds of flowers in pots.

"I was wondering if you would help me plant these flowers?" she asked.

Kuja returned her smile from earlier, "It would be my pleasure my dear,". He didn't particularly like getting down on his knees and getting his fabulous clothes dirty but the woman before him amused him with her quirkiness and he was curious about her and the place that they were in. Besides it wasn't like he had anything better to do right now.

"Wonderful! Lets go then!" She jumped slightly in excitement and began walking in the opposite direction. The wheelbarrows started to move of their own accord following her. Kuja wondered what kind of magic or abilities this woman possessed or that she could manipulate. "Aerith,". Kuja was caught off balance from his train of thoughts as the woman had turned her head, eyes closed and her hands clasped together behind her back as she continued to give him the same smile, "My name".

Kuja stepped forward kneeling before Aerith taking her left hand with his right and placed his left upon his chest and bowed. "A thousand pardons my dear petal. How inexcusable of one who is refined in manners and courtesy such as I, my name is Kuja," he kissed her hand softly and gazed upon her emerald eyes.

"Its nice to meet you Kuja. Thank you for the kiss but I'm afraid I'm already taken," she laughed while winking and waving her index finger.

"Ah so it is some competition to win the fair petal's heart? Would it be intruding if a gentleman such as myself would be the one to take your heart from my love rival?" he smirked while licking lips.

Aerith rolled her eyes he had obviously had not listened to her statement and proceeded to walk again, "Try all you want but that's a battle you'll never win. Its just a little bit up ahead," she pointed out to a small patch of soil with a shallow pond next to it. The wheelbarrows picked up a faster speed leaving Aerith and Kuja behind and they formed a circle around the pond. They both slowly caught up with the objects and Aerith brought out some gardening tools from one of the wheelbarrows and gave them to Kuja. She pointed to the left side of the earthed soil patch and one of the wheelbarrows followed and seemed to be shoving him along.

He sat on the ground and started preparing the soil for the flowers, casting a small Water spell to soften the soil for them. Aerith joined him with another wheelbarrow. "That should just be fine Kuja so lets start planting them,".

Kuja took the first flower and gently removed it from the pot and placed it in the soil. Scooping up the earth slightly and firmly placing it around the small flowers so that it hugged them they stood up settled into their new home. He felt a slight tinge in his heart when he finished the first flower, sadness gripped him suddenly. He wasn't used to this emotion and to be completely struck by it, Aerith however was happily planting the flowers away that she didn't seem to notice. He shrugged it off and continued with another however ending up with another slight pain in his chest once finishing the plant. His eyes were taken to a lotus flower floating in the middle of the pond, his heart seemed to be drawn to it also. His felt another pain in his chest, heart, somewhere in his body. He carried on however planting the flowers, he owed to do it for Aerith for agreeing to help her.

He eventually finished the wheelbarrow and sighed with his hand tugging his chest. Aerith turned, "Is something wrong?".

"I do not know petal, I feel as if my heart is trying to burst through my body. A saddened rain cloud is forever following me," he sighed as he wiped some sweat of his forehead. Not the prettiest site.

"Perhaps planting the flowers will help you feel better," she said calmly once again smiling at him and continued to her own group of flowers.

"That is the strange thing my dear Aerith. It has been since I started planting these flowers that I have felt this way. Perhaps if you do not mind I would like to take a moment's rest?"

"But who will plant these flowers if you do Kuja? They are depending on you in order to give them everlasting peace," Aerith protested with a more serious tone in her voice. Kuja rolled his eyes, she didn't know the battle from which he had came, what had happened to him and the events that proceeded it.

"And how is it that these little things rely on myself?" he asked in slight annoyance, these were after all only flowers.

"These little things as you say Kuja are not just flowers, they are the souls of the innocent lives that you have taken ever since the day you were born. They deserve peace from the negative emotions of fear, anger and hatred before their lives were so cruelly taken away from them don't you agree?".

Kuja was taken back. These innocent little flowers were the souls of those that he had killed on Gaia and Terra? How could she know that, she didn't appear to be from the worlds that he knew of and lived upon. "Who are you?" he asked abruptly.

"My name is Aerith Gainsborough. And you are Kuja, a genome from the world of Terra, an Angel of Death sent by Garland to wipe out the civilisation of Gaia and send their souls to Garland so that he could have Terra eat away the planet Gaia and it would become the new host for Terra," she answered and shoved a side of her bang that had gotten in the way of her eye. "I have watched it all from here Kuja, you now realise your mistakes and what your selfish actions have caused. Don't you agree that you who took these lives should be the one who take away their sorrow and regret?".

Kuja couldn't answer back, she had watched him? Watched the actions he and Garland had taken? Was she on Terra, Gaia or somewhere, perhaps even stalking him? His mind had so many images running through them, how could she do that? He couldn't think straight, how could she do that though? She appeared to be here amongst nothingness. The pain griped on him again, was she taunting him and making him relive the crimes he had committed? "Where or what is this place?".

"This is the Lifestream. It is the river that circles my world and gives it the ability to live. It is where the souls of those who have died return and become one with my world. Is it not normal for someone from another world to appear hear in the Lifestream of my world but I anticipated your arrival from the planet showing me the terror that your world was gripped in. It has wanted to save the souls of the ones who have been lost, which is why you have appeared here," Aerith answered, no doubt she thought would be confusing Kuja considering what his heart must be going through right now.

Kuja sighed, his hand still tugged upon his chest. He was a genome, not a real person who was born naturally. He was created as a living weapon who would eventually become just another body for the souls of Gaia that were taken is Terra was successful in merged with Gaia. Why would he be sent here? There was supposed to be no place for him, he was just a house for soul of Terra. That was why he rebelled, he didn't want to be a mere vessel when he had brought enough souls from Gaia to Terra for Garland to have Terra absorb the world. Once it was done a soul from the former Terra would be housed in him and his personality, his heart, his own soul would be gone. It wasn't fair if the world could exist and he couldn't. That was not fair at all. Since he was someone who was not created to have a life, why would he be taken to a place like this, to a place of another world where the dead would return to the world and become one with it?

"I do not understand, why would I be sent here? I am not of this world,".

"I don't know myself, but there is a purpose since the souls that were freed after the conflict ended they were sent here. Perhaps you were sent to truly set them free?" Aerith said, trying to comfort the young man.

Kuja stomped his foot, missing one of the planted flowers. "How could that be? I am one that truly is not a real person. I am a genome, a mere vessel compared to all of the civilisation that lives upon Gaia,".

"But you feel pain do you not? When you are distressed your heart yearns out for comfort? You have a soul Kuja. Despite why or how you were created, you were able to enter Trance weren't you? Even though you used the souls that you had taken including Queen Brahne's there was that need inside you that yearned to feel?".

Kuja clutched his heart, the pain he felt. He could feel, he had never looked at it like that before. He did feel emotions, hatred, anger, resentment, embarrassment. He even just recently felt remorse, sorrow and sadness from his actions upon the world and what he had done to his brother and his friends. The emotions of the people he had killed purely for his own selfish actions were taken away just as quickly as he had taken their lives from them. He had just always assumed that his feelings were different than other people, other real people. Aerith was right, these people deserved to rest in peace, to have their sorrow, regret, anger and whatever other negative emotions taken away so they could feel happy and loved. He laughed at himself slightly, he had felt emotions all of this time and he never realised that he indeed did have a soul. He was not an empty vessel, he would of only been if Garland's plan had come to fruition and his body was used to house a Terra soul. He did feel regret over that the souls of Terra could not be saved, but perhaps they were amongst the Gaian souls that had come to rest within these flowers. He looked upon them, they were so fragile just like the soul resting within them. Aerith was indeed right, he did owe it to them and also to Aerith herself for helping him realise his own doubts and fears.

He sat down once again and took the first pot from the next wheelbarrow that had moved itself next to him. Aerith smiled and continued on herself. Kuja noticed that when he had finished the planting the flower, the pain he had felt before was gone, it was no longer there tugging at him.

"I wonder if my brother would be here?" he asked out loud.

"I'm not sure," Aerith responded with her head resting upon his pointed index finger as she tried to think. "It was only yourself that I was able to watch really, I'm sure he's safe,".

Kuja nodded in response, Zidane would be alright he was far too stubborn and upbeat to die. Aerith actually had never told Kuja if he was dead or not but he decided not to question her about it now he needed to make sure these flowers and the souls were taken care of. Though something did come to his mind.

"Now tell me about this man of yours. There must be some certain weakness he has or fault that would be able to make the most beautiful maiden I have ever laid my eyes upon to fall in love with the most beautiful man she has ever laid her glittering eyes upon,".

"Oh you, if he was here right now then I don't think you would be chuckling like you are now,". Aerith giggled while sticking her tongue out to Kuja.

He laughed himself in response, his mannerisms. What Zidane rubbing off on him? Surely not!


End file.
